Cold air brushed against my skin and I shivered in response, rolled over in bed and pulled my covers tighter around my shoulders. Wait something wasn’t right, I was sure I shut the windows before I climbed into bed. No matter, I would rather freeze than get out of bed, I was way too comfy. Suddenly I heard a thud that sounded very familiar, and then the telltale curse. I opened my eyes, all traces of sleep gone and sat up in bed. The windows were open, but this wasn’t Pierce’s home. This was the house I was raised in. I didn’t have time to wonder how I was here, all I could think about was the sound I heard. It was so ingrained in my memory that I would recognize it any day.My father was back from one of his drinking sprees and stumbling through the house. Soon he would get mad at the random furniture for tripping him, even though they had never changed position since I was born. Then he would accuse us of moving them.In the room, lit up only by moonlight, I tiptoed to the door. I
My heart skipped a beat and I glanced at him through the mirror. I should’ve known this was coming, but a part of me hoped it would be delayed for a while, that he would be at work by the time I woke up.“I Uhh…I had a bad night.”“And and equally bad morning it seems.” He nudged his head to the sink as I wiped my hands. “Yeah. I might be coming down with something.”“Something strong enough to make you knock on my door at 2 a.m in the morning with a scared look in your eyes?”I gulped and turned to look him in the eye. Pierce was just praying for information, he didn’t really care. And I would rather rip my tongue out than admit I was running away from a man in my dreams. I shrugged faking nonchalance. “Look I had a crazy nightmare okay? Obviously my pregnancy hormones are working overtime to make me emotional so I overreacted. You don’t have to worry. The baby’s fine, I’m fine. Sorry for bothering you last night, it won’t happen again.“I marched past him and made it into his room
“Oh.” I answered lamely. “Or maybe you’re scared because dad is out of jail.”I shook my head, “let’s not think about that-““Theory confirmed. You’ve bottled up your worries and it’s showing up in your dreams.”“Lily, don’t ‘therapize’ me right now. And he has been out for a while, so why didn’t they start since. .”“We should check the old neighborhood. Find out exactly where he is.” She said out of the blue, I could immediately tell that she had been thinking about it for a while. “Yeah and lead him back to us if he’s there?!” My voice had gone up several decibels. I pinched my nose and let out a sigh. “Your first theory seems more plausible.”“Okay…”The second one was wrong. I mean she was right, I didn’t want yo think about him free and somewhere in the city probably. But that was because, thinking about it all the time would do us no good. “We should go down to eat.”“Sure.”“Hey uhmm, do you want to have a sleepover? Me, you.” Lily asked as we climbed down the stairs. I loo
No, it was happening again. I had to get away before dad showed up, or creepy mum, or I became mum…but then it was too late. And I was fighting off the man who made me.“Myra!” Lily called out and I glanced around the room. My sister was here? There was no time to look for her. Dad was folding his belt up to use as a whip. I felt strong muscular arms grab me. But my father was still standing over me. This had to be the trippiest dream in history. I kept my eyes glued to my father as a familiar smell invaded my senses. Pierce. I breathed in deeply and then again, as my heart stopped pounding so hard. Pierce was here. My father could not hurt me. Pierce would protect me. He’ll protect our baby.A hand tapped against my cheek repeatedly and I tried to jerk away in response. I came to, finally awake, and was greeted by my sister, standing by the edge of the bed in her pajamas, and chewing nonstop on her thumb nails. The room was completely lit up and I was on the floor with Pierce’s ar
Lily didn’t look like she wanted to be the one to answer the question, so I turned to Angie who layed one of my dresses on the bed gently.“Mr Blackwood instructed us to move your stuff here.”My eyebrows connected with my hairline. He was moving me into his room?! “Where is he? He’s left for work?”“No he’s in the gym.”I stalked out of the room and straight downstairs to find him. He was using the pull up machine when I stopped in front of him, and crossed my arms. “What is it?” He grunted after a while.“You told Angie to move my things to your room:”“I did. I’m guessing you have a problem with that?”“Of course, I have a problem with that. Why do you think it’s okay to do that? AND without my permission.” He sighed and stopped using the machine, which was a shame because watching his muscles flex was reducing my annoyance.“You know why I’m moving you, I don’t want you or the baby to get hurt because you’re suddenly sleep walking. In my room, I can keep an eye on you.”“Get An
The D-day had finally arrived and I felt so nervous I could puke my guts out. Lily was somewhere backstage waiting for Hannah. I lost her when a crew of people had carted me off to make sure I was miked up and ready.I paced backstage wringing my hands together. “Candy?” A stage hand offerred, extending a bowl to me. “For your breath.” I grabbed one.“I think I’m just gonna find my sister, is she still backstage, or has she joined the others?”The others being, Jace, Bianca and Jeremy. Jace had gotten all of them tickets, how he did it? I didn’t have time to ask. “I think she’s still here. I could go on find her for you if you’d like.” I shook my head frantically. “I need to move around a bit, anyway, thank you.”“Alright. Just take deep breaths alright?”Why did this show have to be live? And where the hell was Hannah. I walked around, getting stopped very few times by Destan’s backstage crew. A particular burly man who I heard being called Jelly or JB, lingered around me, I knew
He grinned at me as the audience below clapped. “Everyone, this is Myra Thompson’s father. We know how secretive our girl is, so what better person to give in ept to her life than her father.” Destan said jovially while my throat closed up. I glanced at the audience frantically in search of Lily or Hannah as I took a quick step back.Then back at my father. He looked unrecognizable, a far cry from the intimidating figure that loomed over my childhood. The man who had long haunted my dreams had changed; his gaunt frame had filled out, and his face was now smooth-shaven. But it was his smile that unsettled me the most - once a rare and menacing sight, now seemed cunning and deliberate, a calculated gesture that unsettled me more than his anger could.“Come on darling, won’t you give your father a hug.” His voice sounded smoother better than when he was drowning in liquor. He crushed me into a hug and whispered in my ear, “It’s a shame I have to go to such length to see you, doll.” An
My eyes filled with tears. “He’s the one I’ve been seeing in my nightmares okay?! The man who has me so scared that I get out of bed while sleeping just to get away from him.” His confused face morphed into concern then anger. “What did he do to you. Tell me, I’ll make him regret the day that he touched you.”“Like you did to Adams? News flash, that text you saw that night? it was from my dad, not Adams. And I don’t know what you did, but Adams is getting deported now.”His eyes changed, “It was going to happen sooner or later.”I scoffed and wiped tears from my eyes furiously. “You’re just like him.”“What?”“I said you’re a just like him! You both ruin peoples lives. Except you do it with money and he did it with his fists. Why did you do that to Adams? To protect your possession? Guess what? That’s what he thought of me, that’s what he thought of my sister. Property. Do you know how many times he tried to sell me off to his friends, I was just a thing! he could use.”“That’s not
Me and Pierce broke apart only once since we moved to his room. Him to get us breakfast, while I shot a quick text to Hannah and Angie, my cheeks flaming as I told her where I had spent the night(it felt very much like telling her ‘hey Angie, yes, I was absolutely getting railed by Pierce, the man I’m supposed to be NOT in love with.’) She sent me thumbs up emoji accompanied with a text that said Heidi was fine. After a quick meal and more sex we lay curled up beside each other.“…If you could see those photos Pierce.” I shuddered at the image of Ava leaning over Camilla that popped in my head. He drew me closer to him, his finger still drawing patterns over my breasts. I shivered for a whole new reason. “I can only imagine.” He muttered, his brows furrowed, “if only there was a way we could get Tami for her actions too. Her family’s image is ruined as it is. We could announce the links she had to Ruth, placing that accusation even in the media would be a big blow, but I don’t want
Tami’s POV. The house was plagued with more tension than Tami had ever witnessed. An hour ago, a letter had arrived, and since then, they had sat in the living room, Tami watching her parents as they glared at each other, one in plain anger and the other in defiance. “I’m asking you again…what does this mean?” Her father bellowed, his eyes never leaving his wife. Ava scoffed, poorly hiding the fact that she had been shaken by the contents of the letter. “I don’t know Leo, how do you expect me to know? It’s likely a part of Pierce Blackwood’s smear campaign since Tami here went and pissed him off. Now our company is in ruin because your daughter.” A beautiful diversion, Tami noted, it was just like her mother to shift the focus. They still hadn’t explained to her what on earth was going on. The note had been simple. A warning from one of the family’s friends in court. One of the very few people who still stayed loyal to the Bakers. Even though it was because Ava had that video o
I felt every inch of him against me —hard, hot and hungry. But it wasn’t just the feel of him that made me dizzy. It was what this meant. Our step towards a future so uncertain, but a future together…it sounded like music to my ears.When he whispered my name against a taut nipple, I was shivering with need. I pressed my thighs tightly and ground against to match the pulse throbbing insistently between my legs. When I said his name, it was as a strangled plea. Soon, we were moving. He opened a door, led us in…artroom not the bedroom. Pierce cursed and started to back out again. “No, here is perfect” I muttered between kisses “You…deserve more than this.” He groaned, ever the semblance of restraint, even though his hip rolled against me, the sensation of his jeans rubbing my clit relieving some of the pressure there. I knew what would feel better, and I didn’t want to have to wait any longer. “I get to decide that.” I dropped to my knees, my hands working fast on his pants as he g
I tried to pull away but his fingers tightened around my arm and placed it over his chest. “My heart works, just as well as yours does. Those were your words...” His heart pounded underneath my palm, matching my racing heart, “It came to life because of you. It beats for you. Nothing will ever change that- no one, not even you.” I shook my head frantically, “we can’t-what if we…” “I’m scared too, I know you would be safer not being attached to me. But I tried to protect you by hiding you away, that fucking blew up in my face. Now I just want a chance at being with you, like this. No concern for opinions or my family… I want to be with you. I want to be the person you loved me into.” “I’m not that version of me again, Pierce. I-I lost her with Yvette.” His hands swiped at my cheek gently. “There will be times I will look at you and hate you for it. I can’t give myself to you wholeheartedly knowing what it had cost me, I’m not ready…” “You don’t have to be, not yet.” He ki
I woke up the next morning with slight headache but refused to budge from the bed, dying of embarrassment as I relieved the events of last night. I tried to seduce Pierce into sex with me! What kind of idiot was I?!I groaned and covered my face with my palm. And now I was laying down in sheets that smelled like him, wondering if he had woken up or I could still sneak away like a one night stand. I lay there recalling the events of my day. From catching Carter, to Hannah’s confession and coming here. All of you or nothing…I rolled off the bed and turned the bedside lamp on, before scouring the room for my handbag. It was under my coat that I had dumped on the floor promptly after he had left the room. According to my phone, it was seven am, there was two checking -in messages from Angie, one from Hannah with an apology and several from Carter. One of my heels was still on my foot and I slipped it off before I padded to his bathroom to wash my face in the sink.As the water dripped
I watched, my body burning under his gaze as his eyes trailed over me. From my heels and higher-slowly, painfully higher, till they stopped at my face. He swallowed, and took another step back. No quite the reaction I was expecting. A lazy smile spread across my face and I took a step forward, to make up for the one he had taken. “Stop.” His voice came out as a strangled whisper, his breath was uneven, pupils blown wide, jaw tight like he was holding back a storm. He refused to look at me. I took another step, blocking him when he cursed and tried to move towards the door. “Hannah told me about your arrangement with her.” He lifted his eyes to me and looked back at the floor just a quickly, not before I caught the awareness in his expression. I took another step again, a dizzy spell taking over. I shut my eyes and took a breath. I didn’t want to talk right now, I wanted him to be doing things to my body that I would forget by morning. “I-It was the only way I could give you
”Maybe it is my fault, I should’ve left the past in the past. Create more time for us? Stopped taking so long to have sex with it.” I rambled on my words tripping over each other to get past my lips. Two hours in a bar with Hannah, and my intoxication levels were up. “Myra! Are you listening to yourself?“ I nursed my fifth drink, while Hannah scolded me. “Damien disappears into his hobbies all the time and he never has to worry about me cheating on him. Carter’s reaction here says more about him. Plus, You did say he said mistresses were normal in his world.”“His words not mine.” And the ease at which he said it. I could already picture it. Married for ten years and knowing my husband had seven mistresses on the side… normal in his world my foot. “That son of a bitch, I can’t believe he had us fooled. But there you go. He would’ve done it anyway.”I sighed, and downed the rest of my drink while Hannah sipped hers like a civilized human being. “Wanna see my outfit?” I asked drunke
I hugged my coat to my body and prayed no strong gust of wind would whip the fabric up and expose my body to the innocent passersby outside of Carter’s apartment building. He was still ignoring my texts and since my visit with Emma a week ago, I had abandoned all efforts to contact him, and focused all my energy on building a case against Ava Baker. I may not be able to get back at Tami directly for Yvette but it would still hurt her if her mum was going to prison, and who knows, there was still time for Tami to slip up in the future. I stood out there and let my gaze float up to the highest part of the building, where he stayed, and swallowed nervously. If our conversation went well, the. Me and him would be making love for the first time. My way to show him that I was committed to him. A big step for both of us. And yet, my mind rebelled, still not ready for the change. It felt like…cheating to have sex with him. I gritted my teeth and stepped into the building, said a quick hel
I adjusted the strap of my handbag and knocked on the door to Emma’s home. It was a suburban place in a corner of the city, I turned my head to the sound of a group of young boys walking their dog as each one tried to speak louder than the last person. The door creaked open, pulling my attention back. A woman in her fifties, just a little taller than me, stood in the doorway with Viking braids, wearing oversized sweats and a cardigan. She smiled at me, a little unsure. “Myra?” “Hi, yes it’s me. Nice to put a face to the voice.” “It is.” Her eyes roamed over my body. ”I see the resemblance.” She stated, getting even more of my attention. “Come right in ..” She stepped aside, giving me space to enter and I hesitated. Up until this point the only feeling in my mind had been excitement, now came the wariness. Maybe it wasn’t such a hot idea to visit a woman I had never met before. “Look, I am as scared of you as you are of me. But then I saw the resemblance and I’m hoping you’re re